1.B What is Community Sponsorship?

Evaluation in Canada is defined as the systematic collection and analysis of evidence on the outcomes of programs to make judgments about their relevance and performance, and the examination of alternative ways to deliver them or to achieve the same results. Canada evaluates its Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program in a number of ways.

Each year, Canada conducts an evaluation of its resettlement programs, including of the PSR program. This evaluation outlines, inter alia, key findings on the relevance, management, and performance of private sponsorship, as well as program costs, conclusions, and recommendations. Canada is also planning to conduct surveys to compare integration outcomes of newcomers who access settlement services and those who do not, across all immigration classes.

Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs) (sponsoring groups with special agreements in place with Canada to undertake multiple sponsorships each year) are required to submit annual reports to Canada outlining the past year’s sponsorship activities. These reports include information on sponsorship withdrawals and breakdowns, as well as a performance measure survey, where SAHs may express satisfaction and make recommendations to improve the private sponsorship model. Canada also uses an internal computing program called the Global Case Management System (GCMS) to record the processing of all private sponsorship applications. Through GCMS, Canada is able to collect quantifiable data such as the number of approved and refused sponsorship undertakings, eligibility decisions, permanent residence visas issued, refugees matched to sponsors under Visa Office-Referred programs, and refugee arrivals through the PSR program.

Canada also conducted a Rapid Impact Evaluation (RIE) to assess the early settlement outcomes for the Syrian refugees that arrived in Canada between 2015 and 2016, many of whom were privately sponsored. The RIE identified key outcomes of settlement integration and included a survey taken by Syrian participants on their settlement needs and whether they felt those needs were met by their sponsoring groups.

In addition, Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council has co-founded a number of academic studies on Canada’s Syrian resettlement effort. Many of these projects are nearing completion in 2018.